The number of secular Israeli men dodging compulsory military service has declined substantially since 2007, according to data compiled by the army's personnel division.

Official statistics recently submitted to parliament revealed that 75 percent of 18-year-old Jewish Israeli males were drafted in 2011. Among the 25 percent who were not drafted for various reasons, 13 percent were ultra-Orthodox men, the Ha'aretz daily reported on Wednesday.

In comparison, the rate of secular conscripts seeking exemptions reached a record high of 16.3 percent in 2007 and dropped to 12.1 percent last year, while the number of religiously observant men evading the draft has remained at a stable 13 percent since 2009, the report said.

Brig. Gen. Amir Rogovsky, former head of planning in the army's personnel division, attributed the decrease to the military's decision to cease the generous granting of exemptions for non- religious reasons, mainly psychological and medical problems presented by potential recruits.

The army's report comes amid a heated debate in Israel over a new draft law that would impose military service on the country's ultra-Orthodox men.

On Wednesday, Strategic Affairs Minister and Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon of the Likud party and lawmaker Yohanan Plesner of the centrist Kadima party launched intensive discussions with various government ministry representatives in an effort to overcome remaining disagreements on pushing through legislation to require Jewish religious students and Israeli Arabs to join either a military or national service framework.

"We are trying to formulate a bill with an outline for gradual implementation that, even if it won't satisfy anyone, will not tear the nation apart and will lead to a substantial increase in those bearing the burden of military service," Ha'aretz quoted Ya' alon as saying.

Ya'alon and Plesner said they hope to conclude deliberations later in the day, which would enable them to seek cabinet approval for the proposal on Sunday and submit the bill to parliament the following day.

Until recently, Plesner headed a committee appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to draft an alternative to the decade- old Tal Law, which enables ultra-Orthodox men to defer their service indefinitely, to the ire of many Israelis who serve in the army.

Israel's Supreme Court earlier this year ruled the Tal Law unconstitutional and it is due to expire on August 1.

The committee, which recommended penalizing religious draft evaders with a host of financial sanctions, was disbanded by Netanyahu last week, following a political cyclone that threatened a major coalition crisis.

However, Netanyahu's Likud faction on Sunday authorized the committee's conclusions, with the prime minister saying that the new draft law "must change reality" and be done in a manner that would "save the unity of the Israeli people."

"We will provide incentives to those who serve and negative ones to those who evade," Netanyahu said.